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Slay the Princess: Adversary walkthrough

Will you embrace the rivalry of endless combat, or try something else entirely?

Alexa BeMent

Published: Oct 23, 2023 01:15 pm

The Adversary is the chapter of Slay the Princess with the most detailing and choices out of each. Here we’re going to cover the entirety of the Slay the Princess Adversary walkthrough.

Slay the Princess Adversary full guide: Chapter one

To start down the Adversary route, you have to take the knife upon entering the cabin. From there, you have two basic ways to get on the route. The first is to talk to her instead of dropping the knife. How much you talk to her is critical here. Too little or too much will get you another route.

You need to talk to her once and tighten your grip. On the second round of dialogue, pick any option except slaying her or questioning if she’s armed. Then choose to attack her on the third round and pick “Finish the job.”

You can also get this route by dropping the knife, and then choosing to slay her instead of freeing her or locking her away, as long as you still pick “Finish the job.”

Chapter two: The Adversary walkthrough

You’ll meet the Adversary in a rough stone cabin. The outcome is tied to how much you play along with or refuse to fight her. The Adversary route options go as follows:

Fight her (with the knife): On your first go, she’ll tell you your heart’s not in it and to strike for the heart. You have to listen to her. Trying to outmaneuver her kills you and leads to the Eye of the Needle chapter. Mutually if you don’t drive the blade deeper into her arm.
Question your mutual immortality: Requires the above decision. She gives you a free stab at her. Take the stab and she’ll slump over dead, then promptly come back a moment later.
Attack her unarmed: Requires not having the knife. Any outcome of this leads to The Fury.
Go upstairs to take the knife: If you do this and try to leave, you’ll get The Fury as she kills you. But if you simply choose to wait, it leads to Eye of the Needle.
Talk to her: No outcome changes here, but you’ll learn she doesn’t want to be free and only wants to fight. She’ll grow impatient, but won’t punish you for asking questions. Two separate rounds of questioning are possible, one at the start and another if you say you haven’t decided what to do and then stepping closer.
Attempt to free her: Requires the knife. Unlocked by saying you haven’t decided what to do, then choosing the “[Attempt to free her]” option, either when it first appears or after stepping closer to talk to her. The Narrator won’t let you and instead make you raise a middle finger. She’ll retaliate with the same, and kill you if you do, leading to the Eye of the Needle chapter.
Run: She breaks free of her chain and kills you. Giving up and dying or asking the Voices for their input will lead to death and The Fury chapter. Successfully running with the knife or changing your mind and fighting her will instead lead to the Eye of the Needle chapter.
Refuse to fight her or give up on fighting her: She gets mad and breaks out of her chains. If you stick to your guns, she’ll anger more and kill you. This leads to The Fury chapter.

During all of the other options, you can renege on your decision to fight her instead. If you have the knife, this will always give you The Eye of the Needle chapter instead of The Fury. To get the Adversary vessel outcome, you have to listen to her and fight her with the knife as she asks to reach “[Join your Adversary]” option.

You’re halfway through the Slay the Princess: Adversary walkthrough. Time for the chapter three outcomes.

Chapter three: The Fury or Eye of the Needle

If you get the Fury, nothing you do matters in this chapter. Pick any options you’d like, but the fixed outcome is she’ll kill you at the end.

If instead, you’re dealing with Eye of the Needle, your options boil down to this:

Fight her (in the cavern): Requires the knife. The two of you fight and she’s not satisfied, but the Shifting Mound takes her away.
Approach her in the cavern and pick any other option or don’t bring the knife: She’ll chase you and you’ll automatically run away.
Don’t pick up the knife on the way out: The Narrator locks you in with her, and she stabs you with the knife. She’s then taken by The Shifting Mound.
Fight her (outside): You successfully win, and she’s happy about it. Then The Shifting Mound takes her away.
Inform her she’s free now: She realizes as such, and The Shifting Mound takes her away. This also gives you an achievement.

The Adversary, The Eye of the Needle, and The Fury are all different vessels for The Shifting Mound. You’ll need to do this route twice at minimum to get every vessel achievement. Beyond that, you’ve either found a terrifying but fun rival in the Adversary or continuously angered her until there was nothing left. That about covers the Slay the Princess: Adversary walkthrough.